With schools closed, grandparents have kids

Spring-break plus the coronavirus closures means that many grandparents in Ontario are taking care of grandchildren. The kids are getting antsy and spring-break had just started. There is nowhere to go. Essentially, everything is closed.

Oh well, there is still the backyard for entertainment. Hiding behind a chair back and watching the rabbits is always a fun way to spend a little time.

Some folk do not spread COVID-19; no contact with others.

COVID-19 is quickly turning London, Ontario, into a bit of a ghost town. Cinemas have closed as have libraries. Many shops tried operating at reduced hours but found their customers were operating on reduced hours around the clock. The shops have now closed.

But, some people have jobs that do not spread the COVID-19 virus. This city worker works most of the day almost alone. Well, at least at quite distance from other people. But, eventually the city's outside workers will be told to stay home. All workers. There will be almost no exceptions.

Coronavirus forces ski hill to close for season

I have never seen anything like the reaction by government, business and the general population to  the growing coronavirus pandemic.

Tomorrow is the start of springbreak. It is usually one of the biggest, most profitable weeks of the season for the local ski hill. Not this year. One day before the beginning of spring break the ski closed for the season. Why? COVID-19.

The virus is still a question mark. People are concerned and responding with caution.

And speaking of springbreak. It has been lengthened by an additional two weeks by order  of the provincial government.

String, the curse of the kites.

 

No breeze; no worry. Throw the kite in the air and start running. The kite will soar. Of course, it will come down as soon as one stops running. That's the theory. Now, about this string . . . 

Signs of spring

Forget the first robin as the first sign of spring. Try the appearance of bikes and scooters replacing snow shovels and snow blowers. Tonight I took two of my granddaughters to the park. It was cold, it was windy but to them it was spring. Why? No snow.

New Ont. licence plate an urban fiasco

Shot in a dark corner of a parking lot.

The CBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, reports "Ontario's new licence plates (are) 'virtually unreadable' at night. . . . A lot of folks agree. I know. Many of my friends have complained about the new provincial plates.

And yet, when I went out to take pictures of the "unreadable" plates, all my images were rather clear. Flash, dark parking lot at night, bright parking lot at night: all pictures in all situations were legible.

I've worked at two newspapers and once was the organizer of an annual photojournalism seminar. I know all too well how newspapers love a good story. I wondered how many journalists  actually went out and inspected the plates in use.

I also wondered how many journalists contacted folk in other regions who have also had to deal with problem plates. And plates can be a problem and not just in Ontario.

The same plate shot with an on-camera flash.

Modern reflective materials can, in the right situation, reflect too much light. The strong resulting glare can obliterate the lettering on a licence plate.

I'm sure the plates have problems and I'm sure 3M is working on a solution. As much as I detest the present provincial government, I don't think they can be faulted.

The Globe and Mail reported, "OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said that the OPP tested the new plates in three different lighting conditions with automated licence plate readers, which are used in Amber Alert child abduction cases. The provincial police force publicly declared last month that there were no visibility problems with the new blue-on-blue plates.

There's a story here but it is not the neat, clean one being reported in some newspapers and on television. As much as I dislike the Premier Doug Ford government, I think we can cut him some slack with this brouhaha. 

The last plates were not all the great either. You do recall the peeling paint issue, right? 


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1. Found on the Net: In some states, defective manufacturing of plates has been a problem. New York’s governor last year ordered that state’s DMV to replace peeling laminate on some older plates for free, when it became apparent that defective materials or workmanship was causing a rash of delaminations. A few years ago, Illinois recalled 1.1 million license plates because their reflective coating was bubbling and peeling.

2. One interesting claim I came across, but have been unable to substantiate, is that the new, flat licence plates are more environmentally friendly. The process requires the use of fewer nasty chemicals. Unfortunately, flat surfaces are more prone to glare, one of the problems that have done in the new Ontario plates.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/back-seat-driver/article28724602.html#storylink=cp

Making good licence plates is tough

In the Canadian province of Ontario the present, and very unpopular, provincial government is recalling its recently redesigned licence plate and it is not the one shown. The one shown is the licence plate that the new design replaced. The paint often peeled from the old plate leaving it difficult to read.

The new plate is difficult to read too but especially at night. The reflective glare from the new plate can be so severe under certain circumstances that the reflected light renders the new plate totally unreadable. I'd run a picture except that in each picture I shot the plate was quite legible.

I'll keep trying.